Bulls Set for Battle with Buckeyes
Matchup:USF Bulls (0-4-0) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (1-3-0)
Date:Friday, Sept. 6, 2018
Time:7:30 p.m.
Location:Columbus, Ohio // Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Watch:BTN Plus($)
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Twitter Updates:@USFMSoc
Free Admission
TAMPA, Fla., Sept. 6, 2018–The USF men's soccer team will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on its first unranked opponent of the season, Ohio State, on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Bulls Built for Battle with Buckeyes
USF heads into the match following a matchup with then-No. 20 ranked Creighton, where the Bulls fell in a one-goal game despite a comeback effort. Senior
Tomasz Skublak (Hamilton, Canada) led the Bulls with a goal in the 65
thminute, forcing a defensive mistake and chipping the ball in over the Creighton goalkeeper to put pressure on the Bluejays. Down 2-1, the Bulls could not find the back of the net after Skublak's goal, and the USF comeback effort fell short. USF took 11 shots on the night, with four coming on frame. USF's four shots on goals are the most shots on goal allowed by a Creighton opponent this season.
"The team really excited to get another shot at a Big Ten opponent," head coach
Bob Butehorn said.
Before Creighton, USF battled Virginia Tech (now ranked in the Top 25) to a 1-0 heartbreaker in the Bull's home opener a week ago. Nearly 1,000 fans helped the Bulls barrel in 21 shots, but USF was unable to connect with the back of the net and fell to the Hokies. Sophomore
Adrian Billhardt had eight of USF's 21 shots on the night, three of which were on goal.
Goalkeeper
Harrison Devenish-Meares (Sydney, Australia) has stood out for the Bulls in the early season, and was named the American Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Week for Sept. 3, following his back-to-back career-high performances when he earned six and then nine saves in consecutive games. Devenish-Meares added two saves to his season total against Creighton.
The Opponent
Ohio State's win came in the opening weekend over Hofstra at home in Columbus. The one-goal game was the first for newly minted head coach Brian Maisonneuve. The goal, a penalty kick in the 65
thminute, serves as the Buckeye's lone goal of the season. Ohio State is coming off of back-to-back losses at the Dayton Classic in Ohio, where they fell 1-0 to Marshall and Milwaukee, respectively.
The Buckeyes are under the supervision of new head coach Brian Maisonneuve, and return six starters from 2017.
Notable
- Goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares was named The American Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday, and has 17 saves this season.
- USF and Ohio State have met once in 2010, where the Bulls ran away with a 2-1 victory at the FGCU Classic. USF head coach Bob Butehorn was the host of that tournament, when he was the head coach of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.
Watch Live
The match will be live streamed on BTN Plus, and a subscription is required. Live stats will be available on
OhioStateBuckeyes.com.Fans can also follow live updates on
Twitter.
Up Next
The Bulls will return home to face FAU on Monday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. at Corbett Stadium in Tampa.
About USF Men's Soccer
The Bulls concluded the 2017 regular season with a 6-6-4 overall record and finished fifth in the American Athletic Conference with a 3-2-2 mark. Head Coach Bob Butehorn leads the Bulls in his second season at the helm in 2018.
Follow the men's soccer team on social media (Twitter| Facebook| Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
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